KR20230116410A - System and method of seat belt wireless communication - Google Patents

Abstract

Introduced are a seatbelt wireless communication system and a method thereof. The seatbelt wireless communication system of the present invention comprises: a seat belt sensor provided for each seat and detecting whether a seat belt is fastened; a slave control unit provided for the each seat, waking up through wireless communication with a vehicle, transmits a slave data signal including a buckle status detected by the seat belt sensor through the wireless communication, and switching to a sleep status after transmitting the slave data signal; a master control unit provided in the vehicle, receiving and storing the slave data signal transmitted wirelessly from each slave control unit, and transmitting the stored slave data signal to a system controller of the vehicle. Provided are the seatbelt wireless communication system, for reducing battery consumption, and the method thereof.

Description

Seat belt wireless communication system and method {System and method of seat belt wireless communication}

The present invention relates to a seat belt wireless communication system and method for wirelessly detecting whether a seat belt provided for each seat is fastened and reducing battery consumption by turning off power when wireless communication is unnecessary.

A seat belt reminder (SBR) is a device that induces the wearing of a seat belt by notifying a warning light or a warning sound when a passenger sitting in a seat is not wearing a seat belt when the vehicle is driving at a certain speed or higher.

In this seat belt reminder device, the buckle and the integrated central control unit (ICU) are electrically connected through wiring, so that when the seat belt is fastened to the buckle, the buckle fastening signal is transmitted to the ICU, and the ICU communicates with the vehicle controller. connected by the seatbelt, it informs whether or not the seat belt is fastened.

Meanwhile, in the case of a conventional seat belt reminder device, a seat belt reminder sensor and seat belt sensors are connected to an ICU controller through a wire in a vehicle seat.

In addition, as the number of various sensors in addition to the seat belt reminder sensor and the seat belt sensor increases, the length, weight, and cost of the wire increase, causing problems in processing the wiring.

In particular, as the number of electrical sensors in the vehicle seat increases, various sensors and the ECU controlling them remain on at all times without being turned off, which increases the battery consumption of the vehicle.

The matters described as the background art above are only for improving understanding of the background of the present invention, and should not be taken as an admission that they correspond to prior art already known to those skilled in the art.

US 2005-0061568 A1 JP 2019-0001365 A

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and wirelessly detects whether seat belts prepared for each seat are fastened, and turns off power when wireless communication is unnecessary to reduce battery consumption. A seat belt wireless communication system and to provide a way

The configuration of the seat belt wireless communication system of the present invention for achieving the above object is provided for each seat, and the seat belt sensor detects whether the seat belt is fastened; A slave that is provided for each seat, wakes up through wireless communication with the vehicle, transmits a slave data signal including the buckle state detected by the seat belt sensor through wireless communication, and converts to a sleep state after transmitting the slave data signal. control unit; A master control unit provided in the vehicle, receiving and storing slave data signals wirelessly transmitted from each slave control unit, and transmitting the stored slave data signals to the system controller of the vehicle.

In a sleep state of the slave controller, the slave controller may wirelessly receive a wakeup signal to be switched to a wakeup state.

The wake-up signal may be received when the ignition is turned on or off, when the buckle is fastened or released in the ignition on state, or when a predetermined period elapses in the ignition on state.

After receiving the wake-up signal of the slave control unit, the slave control unit is initialized, and when the initialization is successful, each slave control unit may transmit a slave data signal.

The slave data signal for the buckle state may be a signal for the fastening state of the buckle.

The slave data signal may further include a signal for a state of a battery built in the slave controller and a signal for a failure state of each slave controller.

When the master controller normally receives the slave data signal, the slave controller may be switched to a sleep state.

When the master controller normally receives the slave data signal, the master controller may wirelessly transmit a reception confirmation signal to the slave controller.

When the wakeup signal received by the slave control unit is a wakeup signal reflecting the ignition on/off or fastening state of the buckle, the slave control unit can be switched to a sleep state after turning on the timer for transmitting the wakeup signal of the slave control unit. there is.

When the master control unit does not normally receive the slave data signal, the slave control unit retransmits the slave data signal, and when the number of retransmissions exceeds a predetermined number of times, the slave control unit may be switched to a sleep state.

When wireless communication between the slave control unit and the master control unit is unnecessary, power flowing into the slave control unit may be cut off by switching the slave control unit to a sleep state.

The wake-up signal may be transmitted through a low frequency radio (LF) transmitter, which is a low frequency signal transmission device in a vehicle, and may be received through an LF receiver provided in a slave control unit.

The configuration of the seat belt wireless communication method of the present invention includes the steps of waking up each slave control unit through wireless communication in the sleep state of the slave control unit; transmitting, by each slave controller, a slave data signal including a buckle state signal through a seat belt sensor provided for each seat through wireless communication; receiving and storing slave data signals wirelessly transmitted from each slave controller by a master control unit, and transmitting the stored slave data signals to a system controller of a vehicle; It may be characterized by including; converting the slave control unit into a sleep state after transmitting the slave data signal.

Through the above problem solving means, the present invention performs the seat belt reminder function wirelessly by connecting the slave control unit provided for each seat and the single master control unit provided in the vehicle by wireless communication, and in particular, wireless communication between the slave control unit and the master control unit. In this unnecessary situation, power supplied to the slave control unit is cut off through the sleep state conversion of the slave control unit, thereby greatly reducing battery consumption for supplying power to the slave control unit.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a seat belt wireless communication system according to the present invention.
2 is a view for explaining the working relationship of the slave control unit in the seat belt wireless communication system according to the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining the operation relationship of the master control unit in the seat belt wireless communication system of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart of a seat belt wireless communication method according to the present invention.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in this specification or application are merely illustrated for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the present invention, and the embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented in various forms. It may be and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in this specification or application.

Embodiments according to the present invention can apply various changes and can have various forms, so specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in this specification or application. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to specific disclosures, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component, e.g., without departing from the scope of rights according to the concept of the present invention, a first component may be termed a second component, and similarly The second component may also be referred to as the first component.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between elements, such as "between" and "directly between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to", etc., should be interpreted similarly.

Terms used in this specification are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "comprise" or "having" are intended to designate that the described feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof exists, but one or more other features or numbers However, it should be understood that it does not preclude the presence or addition of steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined herein, they are not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. .

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a seat belt wireless communication system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operating relationship of the slave controller 100 in the seat belt wireless communication system according to the present invention, 3 is a diagram for explaining the operational relationship of the master controller 200 in the seat belt wireless communication system of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the seat belt wireless communication system according to the present invention includes a seat belt sensor 110 provided for each seat and detecting whether or not the seat belt is fastened; It is prepared for each seat, wakes up through wireless communication with the vehicle, transmits the slave data signal including the buckle state detected by the seat belt sensor 110 through wireless communication, and enters the sleep state after transmitting the slave data signal. a slave control unit 100 that is switched; A master control unit 200 provided in the vehicle, receiving and storing slave data signals wirelessly transmitted from each slave control unit 100, and transmitting the stored slave data signals to the system controller of the vehicle.

For example, the seat belt sensor 110 is a sensor for detecting whether a buckle is fastened, and a buckle switch may be used.

That is, the buckle switch is operated on/off depending on whether the tongue 12 of the buckle 10 is fastened, thereby detecting the wearing state of the seat belt.

In addition, each slave control unit 100 receives a wake-up signal wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle in the sleep state and is switched to the wake-up state.

Also, the slave controller 100 may detect the fastening state of the seat belt based on the signal detected through the seat belt sensor 110 .

In addition, each slave control unit 100 wirelessly transmits a slave data signal related to the fastening state of a seat belt in an individual seat to the master control unit 200, and after the transmission is completed, each slave control unit 100 is in a sleep state. control to convert.

Here, the sleep state refers to a state in which the slave control unit 100 does not operate, and refers to a state in which all power supplied to the slave control unit 100 is cut off.

The master control unit 200 receives slave data signals wirelessly transmitted from each slave control unit 100 and diagnoses a buckle fastening state based on the received slave data signals.

For example, the master controller 200 enters a wakeup state when the ignition is turned on or the door is opened, and enters a sleep state when the ignition is turned off or the door is closed after the ignition is turned off.

Accordingly, in the wakeup state of the master control unit 200, an ID is designated for each buckle, and a slave data signal wirelessly transmitted for each buckle ID is received and stored.

In addition to this, vehicle battery information and ignition information received from the inside may also be stored together.

The wireless communication means between the master control unit 200 and the slave control unit 100 is RF (Radio Frequency) BLE (Blue Tooth) of the 2.4 GHz band through an RF transceiver and an RF receiver provided in the master control unit 200 and the slave control unit 100. Low Energy), but low-power RF (315, 433, 425 ~ 435 MHz) means of other bands may also be used.

Then, the buckle state information is transmitted from the master controller 200 to the external vehicle controller 300 through CAN communication, and the vehicle state information (ignition on state, driving state, stop state, parking state) from the external vehicle controller 300 signal related to the state) is received. Here, the vehicle controller 300 may be an Integrated Body Unit (IBU), an Airbag Control Unit (ACU), or an Electronic Stability Control (ESC).

However, the buckle state information provided by the master controller 200 to the external vehicle controller 300 may be provided through a wire.

That is, in the present invention, the slave control unit 100 provided for each seat and the single master control unit 200 provided in the vehicle are connected by wireless communication to perform the seat belt reminder function wirelessly, and in particular, the slave control unit 100 and the master control unit In a situation where wireless communication is unnecessary between the slave controller 100 and the sleep state of the slave controller 100, power flowing into the slave controller 100 is cut off, thereby greatly reducing battery consumption for supplying power to the slave controller 100. do.

For reference, when the seat belt unfastened state is detected, the seat belt unfastened state may be warned using lighting, sound (warning sound, warning voice), tactile sensation (seat vibration, seat belt vibration), and the like.

The controllers (slave controller 100 and master controller 200) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention are configured to store data related to an algorithm configured to control the operation of various components of the vehicle or a software command reproducing the algorithm. It may be implemented through a configured non-volatile memory (not shown) and a processor (not shown) configured to perform an operation described below using data stored in the memory. Here, the memory and the processor may be implemented as individual chips. Alternatively, the memory and processor may be implemented as a single chip integrated with each other. A processor may take the form of one or more processors.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2 , according to the present invention, the slave control unit 100 may wirelessly receive a wake-up signal from the sleep state of the slave control unit 100 to be switched to the wake-up state.

In this case, the wakeup signal may be received when the ignition is turned on or off, when the buckle is fastened or released in the ignition on state, or when a predetermined period elapses in the ignition on state.

For example, when the engine of the vehicle is turned on or off, a wake-up signal may be received from the vehicle to the slave controller 100 .

Also, when the buckle is fastened or the fastened buckle is released while the vehicle is running, a wake-up signal may be received from the vehicle to the slave controller 100 .

In addition, when the timer cycle pre-stored in the slave controller 100 is reached while the vehicle is running, the wake-up signal may be received.

The wake-up signal may be transmitted through a LF (Low Frequency Radio: 125 KHz) transmitter, which is a low-frequency signal transmission device in the vehicle, and an LF receiver may be provided in the slave controller 100 to receive the wake-up signal.

In particular, LF communication used as a wake-up signal is a communication method used in a short distance and can be transmitted and received only within the vehicle. Accordingly, an unintentional wake-up by a surrounding vehicle system or a high-frequency signal is prevented.

In addition, the LF signal is used as standby power to determine whether or not to turn on the ignition. In the case of LF communication, power consumption is minimized due to the low frequency, thereby reducing battery usage and using the LF signal as a wake-up signal according to the buckle status change. Therefore, it is possible to minimize battery consumption by maintaining a long transmission cycle when there is no change in the buckle state.

In addition, in the present invention, the slave control unit 100 is initialized after receiving the wake-up signal of the slave control unit 100, and when the initialization is successful, each slave control unit 100 may transmit a slave data signal.

That is, when a wakeup signal is received by the slave controller 100, the slave controller 100 is initialized in a sleep state, and through the initialization, a device driver, RAM test, flash test, etc. are performed. Also, when the initialization of the slave controller 100 is successful, the slave data signal transmission preparation state is entered.

In addition, the slave data signal for the buckle state may be a signal for the fastening state of the buckle.

In addition, the slave data signal may further include a signal for a battery state built in the slave control unit 100 and a signal for a failure state of each slave control unit 100 .

For example, a battery is embedded in each slave controller 100, and the battery may be a coin battery.

Specifically, when the slave control unit 100 is initialized and then enters a transmission preparation state of the slave data signal, it is determined whether a buckle is fastened, a battery state, and whether the slave control unit 100 is out of order.

Here, the battery state refers to detecting the capacity of the battery, and when the voltage of the battery is detected and the battery capacity is below the limit capacity, a signal including a battery replacement notification may be transmitted.

Meanwhile, according to the present invention, when the master controller 200 normally receives the slave data signal transmitted by the slave controller 100, the slave controller 100 can be switched to a sleep state.

For example, in the slave control unit 100, a slave data signal, which is information related to a buckle fastening state, a battery state, and a failure state of the slave control unit 100, is made into a message packet format structure, and wireless communication (RF: Bluetooth) to the master control unit 200.

Accordingly, when the master controller 200 normally receives the message and completes transmission of the message, the slave controller 100 is switched to a sleep state, so that power flowing into the slave controller 100 in a situation where wireless communication is not used. is blocked, thereby reducing battery consumption.

In addition, when the master controller 200 normally receives the slave data signal transmitted by the slave controller 100, the master controller 200 may wirelessly transmit a reception confirmation signal to the slave controller 100.

For example, when the master control unit 200 normally receives a message, the master control unit 200 transmits a confirmation signal confirming that the message transmitted by the slave control unit 100 is correctly transmitted, and the confirmation signal transmitted from the master control unit 200 The slave control unit 100 receives.

In addition, when the wakeup signal received by the slave controller 100 is a wakeup signal reflecting the ignition on/off or fastening state of the buckle, the slave controller 100 turns on the timer for transmitting the wakeup signal, and then The control unit 100 may be switched to a sleep state.

For example, if the wake-up signal that wakes up the slave control unit 100 is a wake-up signal reflecting the starting state of the vehicle or the fastening state of the seat belt, thereafter, the wake-up signal is used to periodically check whether the buckle is fastened or not. Turn on the timer for transmitting the up signal.

Therefore, after switching to the sleep state, even if an event due to ignition on/off or buckle fastening does not occur, a wakeup signal is transmitted to the slave control unit 100 at intervals determined by the timer, and thus the buckle state and battery status can be checked periodically.

On the other hand, in the present invention, when the master control unit 200 does not normally receive the slave data signal, the slave control unit 100 retransmits the slave data signal, and puts the slave control unit 100 into a sleep state when the number of retransmissions exceeds a certain number of times. can switch

For example, if the master controller 200 fails to transmit a confirmation signal to the slave controller 100 because the master controller 200 does not normally receive a message transmitted from the slave controller 100, the slave controller 100 ) does not receive the confirmation signal, so that the slave control unit 100 can know that message transmission has failed, and thus the slave control unit 100 retransmits the message.

Retransmission of the message is attempted up to a set number of times, and when the set number is exceeded, message transmission failure is recorded.

At this time, if the message transmission of a specific slave control unit 100 fails, it can be diagnosed as a failure of the corresponding slave control unit 100, and if all wireless transmission and reception between each slave control unit 100 and the master control unit 200 fail, wireless It can be diagnosed based on transmission/reception abnormality.

Subsequently, if the message retransmission exceeds a predetermined number of times, the slave control unit 100 is controlled to switch to a sleep state.

In this way, even when the number of message retransmissions exceeds the predetermined number of times and fails, by switching the slave control unit 100 to a sleep state, power flowing into the slave control unit 100 is cut off in a situation where wireless communication is not used, and thus This will reduce battery consumption.

Meanwhile, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control process of the seat belt wireless communication method according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the seat belt wireless communication method according to the present invention includes the steps of waking up each slave control unit 100 through wireless communication in a sleep state of the slave control unit 100;

transmitting, by each slave control unit 100, a slave data signal including a buckle state signal through a wireless communication by means of a seat belt sensor 110 provided for each seat; receiving and storing slave data signals wirelessly transmitted from each slave control unit 100 by the master controller 200, and transmitting the stored slave data signals to a system controller of the vehicle; The slave controller 100 converts to a sleep state after transmitting the slave data signal.

Accordingly, a seat belt wireless communication process according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 4 .

In the sleep state of the slave control unit 100, it is monitored whether a wake-up signal is received by the slave control unit 100 (S10).

For example, it is monitored whether an LF signal according to ignition on/off is received, a buckle fastening or releasing signal is received, or a predetermined timer period is reached (S20, S30, S40).

Accordingly, when any one of the above conditions is satisfied, a wake-up signal is received from the vehicle to each slave controller 100, and when the wake-up signal is received, an initialization process of the slave controller 100 is performed in the sleep state (S50). ).

Accordingly, it is determined whether the initialization of the slave control unit 100 is successful (S60), and if the initialization is successful, the slave data signal related to the fastening state of the seat belt, the battery state, and the failure state of the slave control unit 100 is transmitted as a message packet after initialization. It is made into a form and prepared for transmission (S70).

Subsequently, when the message transmission preparation is completed (S80), each slave control unit 100 transmits a message (S90), and it is determined whether the transmitted message is normally received in the master control unit 200 (S100).

As a result of the determination in step S100, if the master controller 200 normally receives the data transmitted by the slave controller 100, the master controller 200 receives a confirmation signal that the slave controller 100 has correctly received the transmitted data. do.

Subsequently, a wake-up signal converted from a sleep state to a wake-up state is determined (S110).

As a result of determination in S110, when the wakeup signal is switched to the fastening or releasing state of the buckle 10, or when the wakeup signal is generated by wireless transmission and reception of the LF signal, the slave control unit 100 is put into a sleep state after turning on the timer Converts to (S120). In the case of other wake-up signals, it is immediately converted to the sleep state.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in S100, when the message is not normally received, the slave controller 100 retransmits the message.

Then, it is determined whether the number of retransmissions exceeds 3 times because the message was not normally received (S130), the number of transmissions is counted and accumulated when it is less than 3 times (S140), and if it exceeds 3 times, it is recorded that message transmission has failed. (S150), the slave controller 100 is switched to a sleep state.

As described above, in the present invention, the slave control unit 100 provided for each seat and the single master control unit 200 provided in the vehicle are connected by wireless communication to perform the seat belt reminder function wirelessly, and in particular, the slave control unit 100 In a situation where wireless communication is unnecessary between the master control unit 200 and the slave control unit 100 by switching the sleep state to cut off power flowing into the slave control unit 100, battery consumption for supplying power to the slave control unit 100 is reduced. will be greatly reduced.

On the other hand, although the present invention has been described in detail only for the specific examples described above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, and it is natural that these changes and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims. .

100: slave control unit
110: seat belt sensor
200: master control unit
300: vehicle controller

Claims (13)

a seat belt sensor provided for each seat and detecting whether or not the seat belt is fastened;
A slave that is provided for each seat, wakes up through wireless communication with the vehicle, transmits a slave data signal including the buckle state detected by the seat belt sensor through wireless communication, and converts to a sleep state after transmitting the slave data signal. control unit;
A seat belt wireless communication system comprising: a master controller provided in a vehicle, receiving and storing slave data signals wirelessly transmitted from each slave controller, and transmitting the stored slave data signals to a system controller of the vehicle. The method of claim 1,
The seat belt wireless communication system, characterized in that the slave controller wirelessly receives the wake-up signal in the sleep state of the slave controller and switches to the wake-up state. The method of claim 2,
The wake-up signal is received when the ignition is on or off, when the buckle is fastened or released in the ignition on state, or when a certain period elapses in the ignition on state. The method of claim 1,
The seat belt wireless communication system, characterized in that the slave control unit is initialized after receiving the wake-up signal of the slave control unit, and each slave control unit transmits a slave data signal when the initialization is successful. The method of claim 1,
The slave data signal for the buckle state is a seat belt wireless communication system, characterized in that the signal for the fastening state of the buckle. The method of claim 1,
The slave data signal further includes a signal for a battery state built into the slave control unit and a signal for a failure state of each slave control unit. The method of claim 1,
The seat belt wireless communication system, characterized in that when the master control unit normally receives the slave data signal, the slave control unit is switched to a sleep state. The method of claim 8,
The seat belt wireless communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the master controller wirelessly transmits a reception confirmation signal to the slave controller when the master controller normally receives the slave data signal. The method of claim 7,
When the wakeup signal received by the slave control unit is a wakeup signal reflecting the ignition on/off or fastening state of the buckle, turning on the timer for transmitting the wakeup signal of the slave control unit and then switching the slave control unit to a sleep state. Characterized by a seat belt wireless communication system. The method of claim 1,
The seat belt wireless communication system, characterized in that, when the master control unit does not normally receive the slave data signal, the slave control unit retransmits the slave data signal and switches the slave control unit to a sleep state when the number of retransmissions exceeds a predetermined number of times. The method of claim 1,
The seat belt wireless communication system, characterized in that, when wireless communication between the slave control unit and the master control unit is unnecessary, power flowing into the slave control unit is cut off by switching the slave control unit to a sleep state. The method of claim 1,
The wake-up signal is transmitted through a low frequency radio (LF) transmitter, which is a low-frequency signal transmission device in the vehicle, and received through an LF receiver provided in the slave control unit. waking up each slave control unit through wireless communication in a sleep state of the slave control unit;
transmitting, by each slave controller, a slave data signal including a buckle state signal through a seat belt sensor provided for each seat through wireless communication;
receiving and storing slave data signals wirelessly transmitted from each slave controller by a master control unit, and transmitting the stored slave data signals to a system controller of a vehicle;
and converting the slave controller into a sleep state after transmitting the slave data signal.

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